OJ Simpson’s life and death: From NFL running back to Bronco chase and the murder trial that brought him infamy
OJ Simpson, the former football star and Hollywood actor whose murder trial for the killing of his ex-wife became a national sensation, died Thursday at the age of 76 after a brief battle with cancer.
Simpson became one of the greatest running backs in the history of college and then professional football.
His career began at the University of Southern California, where he was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1968 after setting the NCAA single-season mark.
He was then selected first overall by the Buffalo Bills, for whom he played for nine seasons before finishing his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted by a Los Angeles jury of the murders of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in what was called “the trial of the century.”
OJ Simpson, NFL Hall of Famer and several other things, died Thursday at the age of 76
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted by a Los Angeles jury of the murders of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in what was called “the trial of the century.” He is pictured here with his ‘dream team’ of lawyers
He avoided prison when he was found not guilty in the 1994 stabbing deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
He later served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 of 12 counts of armed robbery and the kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame growing pains to become an exciting running back at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player.
After a record-setting career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Simpson parlayed his football stardom into a career as a sportscaster, advertising pitchman and Hollywood actor in films such as the “Naked Gun” series.
That all changed after Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman were found fatally shot in an incredibly bloody scene outside her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994.
Simpson soon emerged as a suspect. He was ordered to surrender to police, but five days after the murders he fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate, carrying his passport and a disguise.
A slow chase through the Los Angeles area, in which the former NFL player famously drove a white Ford Bronco, ended at Simpson’s mansion and he was later charged with the murders.
What followed was one of the most infamous trials in 20th century America and a media circus.
Simpson became a football star while at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968
In this December 16, 1973 file photo, Buffalo Bills’ OJ Simpson, 32, takes on the New York Jets in the first quarter of an NFL football game at Shea Stadium in New York
Simpson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985
Simpson turned to acting after his NFL days, starring in the Naked Gun movies and appearing on TV
But his fame turned to infamy after the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later arrested in connection with their murders
It had everything: a wealthy celebrity defendant; a black man accused of killing his white ex-wife out of jealousy; a woman killed after separating from a man who beat her; a “dream team” of expensive and charismatic lawyers; and a huge blunder by the prosecutors.
Simpson, who declared himself “absolutely 100 percent innocent” at the start of the case, waved to jurors and uttered the words “thank you” after the mostly black panel of 10 women and two men acquitted him on October 3, 1995. .
Prosecutors argued that Simpson killed Nicole in a jealous rage, and they presented extensive blood, hair, and fiber tests that linked Simpson to the murders.
The defense countered that the famous defendant was framed by racist white police.
The trial has fascinated America. At the White House, President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office and watched the verdict on his secretary’s television.
The crime scene where Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were murdered
When police closed in on Simpson in the investigation, he led them on a long chase in a white Ford Bronco along LA’s freeways.
The police chase of OJ Simpson’s Bronco captivated the nation and had people in LA lining the streets to cheer on the NFL legend
Simpson’s mugshot after his arrest
“If the glove doesn’t fit, acquit,” became one of the most famous lines from Simpson’s infamous trial
Many black Americans celebrated his acquittal and saw Simpson as the victim of bigoted police. Many other Americans were shocked by his acquittal in what seemed like an obvious victory for the prosecution.
The Goldman and Brown families subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson in civil court.
In 1997, a predominantly white jury in Santa Monica, California, found Simpson liable for the two deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Following the civil case, some of Simpson’s belongings, including memorabilia from his football days, were taken and auctioned off to help pay the damages he owed.
On October 3, 2008, exactly thirteen years after his acquittal in the murder case, he was convicted by a jury in Las Vegas on charges including kidnapping and armed robbery. He was subsequently sentenced to prison
In recent years, Simpson has appeared weak while in Las Vegas
On October 3, 2008, exactly thirteen years after his acquittal in the murder case, he was convicted by a jury in Las Vegas on charges including kidnapping and armed robbery.
These stemmed from a 2007 incident at a casino hotel in which Simpson and five men, at least two of whom were carrying weapons, stole thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia from two dealers.
Simpson said he was just trying to get his own property back, but was sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Simpson, wearing blue prison jumpsuits with shackles on his legs and wrists, said at his sentencing. “I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”
Simpson was released on parole in 2017 and moved to a gated community in Las Vegas. He was released early in 2021 for good behavior at the age of 74.